


and we will run away (together)

by umbr4e



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Awkwardness, Canonical Character Death, Character Study, Cuddling & Snuggling, Denial of Feelings, Developing Relationship, F/F, Falling In Love, Hospitalization, Hospitals, Lesbian Chabashira Tenko, Medication, Pre-Game Chabashira Tenko, Pre-Game Personalities (New Dangan Ronpa V3), Pre-Game Yumeno Himiko, Sharing a Bed, but he is NOT ok, but it's not detailed, fuck it postgame tenmiko, i am so haphazard with tags, korekiyo is mentioned btw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:28:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26343391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/umbr4e/pseuds/umbr4e
Summary: As much as it pains her to subject herself to Team Danganronpa’s mercy, she knows there is precious little she can do right now.The simulation prevented their bodies from breaking apart (mostly), but their minds didn’t recover properly, she knows that. She doesn’t know what the pills even do, but it’s better than crying all day.She feels like a traitor for taking them, sometimes, but they keep her balanced. Keep her in check.There is a dam waiting to break within her, but she is not ready to deal with it just yet.
Relationships: Chabashira Tenko/Yumeno Himiko
Comments: 10
Kudos: 50





	and we will run away (together)

**Author's Note:**

> hiiiii lgbt community  
> decided i needed to write smth other than amaguji, so. tenmiko people are you happy with this

Tenko soon realises that she hates hospitals.  
Hates this hospital.  
She hates the smell of disinfectant, the whites and blues of the walls, the hard mattress and the pillows that her head sinks into. She hates the monotonous hallways, the sight of silver surgical instruments on silver trays, the feel of the needle of the I.V drip in her arm. 

It is even surprising to her that she can feel this much hatred; there isn’t much she’s been able to feel since waking up from the simulation. Not as intensely, anyway. Not as intensely as Team Danganronpa’s Tenko.

She hates that too.  
She hates fake Tenko.

The girl curled up on the armchair next to her makes it a little easier, though. 

Her hair is longer than before.

Cute mage outfit has been replaced by sweatpants and a hoodie far too big on her, a two toned face with a red design on the black side emblazoned onto the back.  
Pointy hat has been replaced by the hood of said hoodie.  
Pointier shoes have been replaced by socks and hospital issued slippers.

Despite studying her so intently, Tenko doesn’t really notice when she wakes up again. 

“Hey, Tenko.”

“I- Good morning, Himiko.”

“It’s evening.”

“Still.”

Awkward silences have become a staple in their new friendship. Honestly, they could spend hours sitting in silence without saying what they wanted to say and still have time for more. Entire days spent that way aren’t uncommon.

This isn’t one of those days.

“How are you feeling?” Himiko is rifling through the cabinet on the wall, probably looking for the pills Tenko takes at this time.

“Okay. I’m not really in pain anymore, just numb. What about you?”

The pace at which she is pulling and pushing bottles away increases. “Nothing happened to me. I’m fine.”

“You know what I mean. How was therapy?”

“...Okay, I guess. I had it together with Kokichi today. It was weird.”

“Really? I haven’t had the chance to speak to him yet, what’s he like?”

“I don’t know. Weird. He’s more anxious than I remember him being, but just as annoying. He lies a little less, though.” 

“Anxious, huh?”

“Yeah. Kept muttering to himself.”

“I’m sure he’s pretty messed up, too. Don’t blame him for what he did. It was written into him.”

Himiko stands at the side of the bed, medicine bottle in hand. From the way she’s chewing her lip, Tenko is more than a little worried that she said something wrong. More than a little worried that she upset her. 

She voices it.

“No. It’s fine. You’re just… You’re so different from the other Tenko. You’re so much calmer. Sometimes it’s disorienting.”

She feels white hot rage flash through her chest at the mention of the Other Tenko, but forces it down for the umpteenth time that day.   
“I guess. You’re different too. Angrier than I remember.”

“Of course I’m angry, they wrote me into some boring, dumb... idiot!” The mattress shifts as Himiko flops back on to it, letting the little bottle of pills roll towards Tenko, who promptly picks it up and reaches for the water she keeps next to her bed.  
As much as it pains her to subject herself to Team Danganronpa’s mercy, she knows there is precious little she can do right now.  
The simulation prevented their bodies from breaking apart (mostly), but their minds didn’t recover properly, she knows that. She doesn’t know what the pills even do, but it’s better than crying all day.   
She feels like a traitor for taking them, sometimes, but they keep her balanced. Keep her in check.  
There is a dam waiting to break within her, but she is not ready to deal with it just yet.

“I’m not useless, Tenko. I know I’m not.”

“I know you’re not.”

“No. You don’t.” She is staring, staring at the ceiling with a hardness in her eyes none of them have ever seen before.   
Maybe the Other Tenko would have said something. Gasped, disagreed, held Himiko in her arms and yelled praises till every bad thought was wished away.  
She wasn’t that Tenko anymore.  
Instead, she asks a question.

“...Why did you audition?”

Himiko turns her head, facing away.  
Her hair falls in waves that are usually bunched up into a low bun, surrounding her neck and head like a fiery halo. The air is heavy, but that is not new. 

“I signed up so that I could… So that I could help my family out. My mom. After dad died, she was stuck with me and a crappy little house with no heating, but she was so good. She was so good to me, Tenko. And I wanted to give her something back, I wanted to help her, I wanted to make enough money to take her and run so, so far away.”

Tenko swallows two of the pills.

“So one night I filled out the registration form, and the next week I guess they liked my card tricks enough to make me a whole new character.”

“Card tricks?”

“Yeah. Dad taught me when I was a kid.”

“That’s sweet, Himiko. It’s a good reason. I’m sure your mom is proud of you.”

She’s facing totally away, now.

“Maybe.”

There are words, there are words on the tip of her tongue, but she does not let them slip past her teeth. There are reassurances, empty praise that she knows will do nothing, and knowing that it is only because of Other Tenko’s influence on her leaves a bitter taste in her mouth.  
She cannot afford that.  
She cannot do that to herself.  
Instead, she asks more questions.

“How are the others doing? I haven’t seen them since I woke up. Other than Maki and Shuichi, of course.”

“It depends, I guess.”

“...How’s Angie doing?”

“She’s… Coping. She paints things a lot, paints on things too.”

“That’s good. That’s good.” 

Himiko doesn’t move.

“Did you watch the third trial?”  
Her voice carries less emotion than Tenko expects, and it’s worrying.

“Yes. They showed me a few days ago, actually. The whole game.”   
She can feel the mage looking directly at her now, but for once, she doesn’t meet her eyes.  
(She wants to tell her how brave she was. How strong she was despite all the odds being stacked against her. She doesn’t.)

“...Have you met him?”  
The tension between them is unbearable. Logically, Tenko is sure only a few seconds pass, but she loses track of time waiting for a response, anyway.

“No. They put him in intensive care or something. Couldn’t cope like the rest of us. Don’t know when they’ll let him out.”

“Well, that. That makes sense, based on what I saw in the trial. I don’t know what I’d do if they turned me into that.”

“If I see him again, I might need you to keep me from murdering him for good.”

Tenko laughs despite the situation, shoulders drooping with relief when Himiko cracks a small grin next to her.  
“Don’t murder him, though. I doubt he really wanted to kill anyone. Just like everyone else.”

“I guess. It’s easier to just blame Team Danganronpa, so… I might stick with that for now.” Himiko seems to pause before shifting closer, settling in the empty space next to Tenko and curling up remarkably like a cat.

“Blaming them is justified. They did this. Maybe we wanted it at first but they did this to us.”  
Her heart flutters in all sorts of ways that it shouldn’t when Himiko reaches over to intertwine their fingers.  
“They did. And when this is all over, we’ll run away.”

“...Yeah. I hate hospitals, anyway.”


End file.
